Block Party progress

I took a break from my labyrinth quilt yesterday, and got two of the three block party blocks completed.  We have a pretty Christmas pinwheel, and a star block this month.  It's a busy month this time around, because we had a cancellation last month so we're playing catch up. 

I have one more to complete, but the official deadline for it isn't until the 6th of December, so I can put together some more labyrinth blocks before I tackle that 8-pointed star.

Blogathon starts today!

Blogathon Canada starts today.  Be sure to drop by the host blogs for a chance to meet some great Canadian bloggers.  And don't forget to enter on each blog for a chance to win great prizes.

Drop by the Sew-Sisters blog too, for more chances to win!

Here's the schedule for this week's blogathon. Be sure to drop by all the blogs during the blogathon week, and check out some of the additional blogs they'll each have linked.  Get to know some Canadian bloggers, and enter for a chance to win prizes. And be sure to come back here on November 23 for my hosting day!

Monday, November 18	BC	Holly	Holly's Red Bike
Monday, November 18	BC	Heather	Winding Bobbins
Tuesday, November 19	Maritimes	Adrienne	Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Tuesday, November 19	Maritimes	Marjorie	Marjorie's Busy Corner
Wednesday, November 20	AB	Katherine	Sew Me Something Good
Wednesday, November 20	AB	Andrea	Urban Quilt Works
Thursday, November 21	SK	Flo	Butterfly Quilting
Thursday, November 21	MB	Kathy	Tamarack Shack
Friday, November 22	QC	Izzy	Dizzy Quilts
Friday, November 22	Territories	Danielle	A Geeky Crafty Life
Saturday, November 23	ON	Jackie	Jackie's Art Quilts
Saturday, November 23	ON	Krista	Krista Quilts

Design Wall Monday - Nov 18

My design wall is a bit of a mess today.  I spent some time working on my labyrinth quilt yesterday. I really should have been doing my block party blocks, because two of them are due this coming weekend but labyrinth was calling my name. 

I cut all the strips out, to make sure I wasn't going to run out of the light, and stuck the strips up on the wall in sets. I should be OK - there's about 10 inches of the light purple fabric left right now.  Assuming I didn't make any major mistakes in cutting, I have enough.  That might be a big assumption, give than I have found cutting issues in each of the 3 blocks I've assembled so far.  Apparently I can't count very well.  However, I'm pretty sure the fabric is going to be enough.

On the good news front, I finished quilting my diamond star yesterday.  I love how it came out, although some of my free motion quilting still needs more practice.  There's a little bit of everything in this quilt - feathers, circles, stippling, and ruler work.

The colour in this second picture is way off, but I was trying to get the quilting to show up.  I guess my photography skills need more practice too.  Now I just need to get it bound by this weekend.  With that and the block party, I think labyrinth is going to have to take a break for few days.

Drop by Judy's blog today to see what everyone else has on their design walls.

Stash Report - Nov 17

This week wasn't nearly as prolific as last week, but I can report 3 yards used for the backing of my star quilt.   I've made a lot of progress on the quilting, and hope to get it off the long arm by the end of today.

I've also made a little bit of progress on the labyrinth, and have managed to confirm that I will *not* run out of fabric before it's done.

Total stash used this week: 3 yards
Total for the year: 231 1/4

Drop by Judy's blog to see what everyone else has been up to this week.

Quilting Decisions

After lots of contemplation, and one false start, I have figured out how I want to quilt my turquoise star.  Still working on the details for the background sections, but I should have that figured out by the time I get there.  Now if only I didn`t have to work today and could quilt all day. 

Choosing a quilting design has got to be one of the hardest parts of quilting for me (even harder than picking fabric, which can take me hours sometimes).  I do think it gets easier, both with practice and with experience in the actual quilting. I`m no longer afraid that I`ll pick something  I can`t do justice to, so that does open up a lot more options these days.  But there`s still a great deal of angst from the time I decide what I`m going to do, until I can actually see it taking shape on the quilt.

I'm Famous (well, not quite)

My Bulging Checkerboard quilt has been featured in a magazine!  Australian Homespun has an article about optical illusion quilts in their November issue, and my checkerboard is one of the examples they've included.  How cool is that?

Design Wall Monday

Today, my design wall has a quilt that I started yesterday at the retreat.  After I finished my first 2 projects, I pulled this one out and started making blocks.  I designed this labyrinth several months ago and have been waiting for a chance to tackle it. Every block is different - the quilt has an entry, an exit, and a single path through the maze.  I took the pattern, divided it up into 18" squares, and am putting them together a piece at a time.  3 rows out of 5 are done (there are more blocks finished, but my design wall isn't wide enough to hold the whole quilt.  The little bits of white paper are the row/column numbers for each block, so I don't have to put together a jigsaw puzzle in the end :) 

Having put it on the wall, I've already spotted one mistake, which I will take care of this morning.  Then, I'm going to cut the strips for the rest of the quilt - because I'm starting to doubt my calculations and I'm a bit afraid of running out of fabric. If I figure that out soon enough, I can redesign the bottom of the quilt to fit the fabric I have.

Drop by Judy's blog to see what everyone has on their design walls today.